Publisher Minstrel’s Alley is tying a new marketing campaign for its novel, The Guys Who Spied for China into a CBS Sixty Minutes Special, detailing the pervasiveness of Chinese Espionage within the United States. In addition to the much publicized cyber-espionage, the Sixty Minute segment interviews experts in the field who reveal the depth and degree of damage Chinese Espionage has caused a variety of industries. The investigative segment has renewed interest in The Guys Who Spied for China. The novel was written by Gordon Basichis and was originally published by Minstrel’s Alley in 2009. It was a Quarter-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition.

The Guys Who Spied for China by Gordon Basichis

“The Guys Who Spied for China is a fictionalized version depicting the origins of Chinese espionage in America,” said M.J. Hammond, Minstrel’s Alley publisher. “Spies for China began operating in the United States shortly after the Korean War. The first spies were American traitors and European communists with a Maoist bent.

The novel is based on Gordon Basichis’ own experience assisting a very senior spook in uncovering the espionage networks in California and other parts of the country. Much of it is set in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, the Silicon Valley and San Francisco. It is a character driven story that captures the heart and soul of the shadow world. Gordon writes so you get to feel on a visceral level what that world is all about. People know him for the bestselling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story.”

Hammond points out that the book chronicles the early days of Chinese espionage when most of the operatives were both ideological and in it for the money. She noted that after President Nixon opened China and immigration was relaxed, Chinese Nationals gradually began to take over the espionage networks that were operating in every major American city. There was some conflict among the old network of domestic and European spies and the agents sent over from China.

“The Sixty Minute Segment is an excellent platform from which to build a marketing campaign,” said Hammond. “People interviewed for Sixty Minutes describe how much of our national security has been compromised by the persistence of Chinese espionage. Military and technological advancements have been stolen with relative impunity. It has cost this country hundreds of billions of dollars.

“The Guys Who Spied for China is a must read to learn how it all began and what was done, and what was not done, to stop it,” said Hammond. “Gordon Basichis’ novel is very cinematic, a great read. Not your typical spy book. It’s often funny, filled with dark humor. It’s some scary stuff.”